2018 BASS Elite Sabine River Day 2: Greg Hackney Continues to Dominate

Hackney takes 5 pound lead 

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Hackney has big lead but running out of bass.
(Photo: BASS)

After catching a big limit of bass in his first spot during Thursday’s opening round of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River presented by Econo Lodge, Greg Hackney promptly left the area in hopes of saving it for later in the tournament.

He had hoped to repeat that process today, but things took a little longer.
 
Instead, Hackney, a five-time B.A.S.S. tournament winner from Gonzales, La., took all day to land a five-bass limit that weighed 11 pounds, 15 ounces and pushed his two-day weight to 28-2.
 
He’s still in first place. But now, there’s some maneuvering to be done.
 
“I probably caught 20 keepers in there today, but I had to burn through them to catch what I weighed in,” said Hackney, whose last B.A.S.S. victory came in 2016 on Lake Texoma on the Texas-Oklahoma border. “I think I could go back in there and catch another limit, maybe 6 pounds. But that’s not what I’m looking for.
 
“So, I’m going to move around a little bit tomorrow.”
 
Hackney said his keeper bass today were smaller on average than they were on Thursday, when his catch was anchored by a 5-14 largemouth. He had two bass Friday in the 3-pound range and three more that were about 1 1/2 pounds apiece.
 
With his best spot now exhausted, he’ll have to move to one of the other areas he found during practice. Though he knows those areas have probably been hit hard by other anglers the last two days, he believes his method will still work.
 
“I know they’ve been fished, but I’ve watched the guys around me and they’re not fishing like I am,” he said. “I watched guys really catch the little ones around me again today. But I went right behind them this evening and caught a 3-pounder.”
 

Rick Morris Wins the 2017 BASS Northern Open James River with 43-15lbs!

Veteran wins first BASS event!
BASS PRESS RELEASE

A worm and experience helps Morris win.
(Photo: BASS)

Thirty years of fishing the James River paid off for Virginia pro Rick Morris, who won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open No. 2 on Saturday.

The Lake Gaston, Va., angler weighed in a 16-pound, 11-ounce five-bass limit and finished with a three-day total of 43-15 to clinch the pro division title. Morris received the top prize of a $45,000 Skeeter bass boat/Yamaha outboard rig and $6,784 in cash. He also qualified for the 2018 GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods, contingent upon him fishing the Northern Open finale at Douglas Lake in September.

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Scott Martin Wins 2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Champlain Wire to Wire!

Martin LOVES N.Y.
FLW PRESS RELEASE

In 2004, Scott Martin won a Walmart FLW Tour event on Lake Champlain by catching smallmouths off beds in practice, weighing them, letting them go and then returning during the tournament to catch the ones that weighed just a little bit more than their neighbors.

This is Scott's third victory on Champlain. (Photo FLW)

In 2009, Martin returned to Champlain and scored another Tour victory by catching largemouths from offshore rock reefs in Missisquoi Bay.

In 2016, Martin once again claimed victory on Champlain, this time by combining a little bit of his smallmouth savvy from 2004 with a little bit of his reef reconnaissance from 2009.

With this win, Martin becomes a six-time FLW Tour winner – the most in FLW Tour history – and backs up his reputation as a closer in Tour events. He rarely gives up a lead once he claims it.

TOP 10 BELOW

Bradley Hallman Wins 2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee with 71-02 Pounds!

Wire to wire win while weather worsens. 

FLW PRESS RELEASE
Bradley Hallman is fishing his first season on the Walmart FLW Tour, but he is by no means a rookie in the world of tournament bass fishing. Hallman spent six years as a pro on the Bassmaster Elite Series from 2006 to 2011, so he knows his way around the business of bass tournaments pretty well.

Two 25 pound limits allow Bradley to ride out rough weather for win.
(Photo: FLW)

During his six years on the Elite Series, Hallman encountered some pretty stiff headwinds that forced him to retreat from the national level of the sport.

“I had a lot going on back then,” Hallman remembers. “My wonderful children were born. My dad passed away. I had a lot going on financially and emotionally, and I just needed a break from it all to sort of regroup and get my head right before getting back in the game at a national level.”

From his pro experience, Hallman learned a very valuable lesson.

“Transitioning from regional-level competition to national-level competition changes the way you fish,” Hallman reflects. “At home I had success fishing my way – fishing my strengths as a pitcher and flipper. But when I got on the Elites, the financial pressure was immense, and I started fishing just to get checks – just to survive – and it changed the way I fished. I was trying to fish the way other people fish just to stay out there. When I quit the Elites I vowed I would not return to national-level tournaments until I could fish my way all of the time.”

2016 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee Day 3: Hallman Punching Up a Huge Lead!

Chris Johnston Jumps to 4th. 

by Rob Newell
FLW PRESS RELEASE
The third day of Walmart FLW Tour events always seem to be the stingiest days. Whether it’s due to condition changes or fishing pressure or both, day three is the seam where anglers’ primary locations and patterns from the first two days begin to fray. As a result, anglers fishing in the top-20 round on day three are faced with some difficult decisions that boil down to staying committed to their primary gig or switching up their game to try something else for a new window that might be opening.

This week at the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on Lake Okeechobee, tournament leader Bradley Hallman, who has sacked up about 25 pounds per day the last two days, says his day-three decision was pretty easy: stay committed to flipping and punching matted reed heads.

This 8 pounder helps keep the pack 13 1/2 pounds behind.  (Photo: FLW)

That decision resulted in being one fish shy of a limit on day three. But one of his four bass weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces, pushing Hallman’s catch to 14 pounds, 3 ounces to give him a three-day total of 64-10. His lead over second-place angler Alex Davis is now 13 1/2 pounds going into the fourth and final day in this event that is hosted by Roland and Mary Ann Martin's Marina and Resort and the Hendry County Tourism and Development Council.

2015 Forrest L. Wood Cup Lake Ouachita Day 1: Jacob Wheeler Takes Lead!

All or northing at Ouchita for Cup anglers
By Luigi De Rose

Wheeler is all smiles on Day 1 (Photo: FLW)

Day 1 is a wrap with Jacob Wheeler taking the lead with 16-2 lbs just over a pound ahead of two-tour pro Ish Monroe. The next top nine anglers are within striking range and this tournament will be an endurance race. One big day might make or break a career here at Ouchita. Many anglers are working established patterns but size is a huge problem. Most of the field has under ten pounds for a five bass limit. Spotted bass are more plentiful but tend to be slim and fail to amass enough weight to make a big difference. Expect tomorrow's top anglers to try to duplicate their first day and the rest of the field to make adjustments.

Here is the top 10.

1	JACOB WHEELER	INDIANAPOLIS, IN	16 - 2 (5)
2	ISHAMA MONROE	HUGHSON, CA	15 - 0 (5)
3	BRANDON COBB	GREENWOOD, SC	14 - 10 (5)
4	SCOTT MARTIN	CLEWISTON, FL	14 - 6 (5)
5	BRAD KNIGHT	LANCING, TN	14 - 4 (5)
6	CHRIS BAUMGARDNER	GASTONIA, NC	13 - 8 (5)
7	RAMIE COLSON JR	CADIZ, KY	13 - 3 (5)
8	LUKE CLAUSEN	SPOKANE, WA	13 - 1 (5)
9	MARK DANIELS JR	TUSKEGEE, AL	12 - 15 (5)
10	JOHN COX	DEBARY, FL	12 - 0 (4)

Walmart FLW Tour Potomac River Day 3: Wendland in Lead, Martin Wins AOY!

Scott Martin Wins 2015 Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year !
FLW PRESS RELEASE

Clark Wendlandt has seen a lot of things throughout his career. Yet the act of kindness he experienced on day three of the Walmart FLW Tour event presented by Ranger Boats on the Potomac River surprised even him.
With Wendlandt facing boat troubles, fellow top 20 angler Shinichi Fukae swapped boats with him – effectively ending his own day – to allow the Leander, Texas, pro to continue fishing and retain his hold on the No. 1 spot. Wendlandt’s 14-pound, 8-ounce bag was the second largest of the day, allowing him to increase his lead over second-place pro Adrian Avena to 3 pounds, 12 ounces.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen an act of sportsmanship that great ever in this sport,” Wendlandt says. “Every time I caught one after that I just kept saying, ‘Thank you, Shin.’”

True sportsmanship comes to the aide of Wendlandt (Photo FLW)

The top 20 anglers launched amid torrential rains and unstable conditions. However, none of it seemed to affect Wendlandt early on, as he put three quick fish in the boat. That’s when things started going wrong. Wendlandt suffered a mechanical failure with his rig and figured he’d have to fish with his trolling motor until he could be towed back to the ramp early.
That’s where Fukae came in. In 16th place and fishless at the time, Fukae insisted Wendlandt trade boats so he could continue with his day unhindered. Fukae stayed in Wendlandt’s boat and was towed back to takeoff. Despite being loaned a boat for a restart, Fukae more or less ran out of time and never boated a keeper.

TOP 10 BELOW

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